| PT-76 | |
|---|---|
 A PT-76 at the Verkhnyaya Pyshma Tank Museum, 2012 | |
| Type | Amphibious light tank |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1951–present |
| Production history | |
| Designer | N. Shashmurin and Zh.Y. Kotin |
| Designed | 1949–1951 |
| Manufacturer | VTZ, Kirov Factory |
| Produced | 1951–1969 (chassis maybe still produced) |
| No. built | Around 12,000[1] . (Other sources indicate 5000 were built. See footnote 3). |
| Specifications (PT-76 model 1) | |
| Mass | 14.6 t (16.1 short tons; 14.4 long tons) |
| Length | 7.63 m (25 ft) (gun forward) 6.91 m (22 ft 8 in) (hull) |
| Width | 3.15 m (10 ft 4 in) |
| Height | 2.325 m (7 ft 7.5 in) |
| Crew | 3 (driver, commander/gunner, loader) |
| Armour | RHAe |
Main armament | 76.2 mm D-56T rifled tank gun (40 rds.) |
Secondary armament | 7.62 mm SGMT coax machine gun (1,000 rds.) or 7.62 mm PKT machine gun coax machine gun (1,000 rds) since 1967 |
| Engine | 19.1L 6 cylinder inline diesel 180 kilowatts (240 hp) |
| Power/weight | 12.3 kW/t |
| Suspension | torsion-bar |
| Ground clearance | 370 mm (14.6 in) |
| Fuel capacity | 250 L (55 imp gal; 66 US gal) |
Operational range | 370–400 km (230–250 mi) 480–510 km (300–320 mi) with external fuel |
| Maximum speed | 44 km/h (27 mph) on road, 10.2 km/h (6.3 mph) swimming |
The PT-76 is a Soviet amphibious light tank that was introduced in the early 1950s and soon became the standard reconnaissance tank of the Soviet Army and the other Warsaw Pact armed forces. It was widely exported to other friendly states, like India, Indonesia, Iraq, Syria, North Korea and North Vietnam.
The tank's full name is Floating Tank–76 (плавающий танк, plavayushchiy tank, or ПТ-76). 76 stands for the caliber of the main armament: the 76.2 mm D-56T series rifled tank gun.
The PT-76 is used in the reconnaissance and fire-support roles. Its chassis served as the basis for a number of other vehicle designs, many of them amphibious, including the BTR-50 armored personnel carrier, the ZSU-23-4 self-propelled antiaircraft gun, the ASU-85 airborne self-propelled gun and the 2K12 Kub anti-aircraft missile launch vehicle.